The Curse
by Gildan
Summary: 19th century AU in which Will Graham and Hannibal Lecter are working together to stop the onslaught of cannibalistic attacks brought on by what the townspeople are calling "the wendigo". When the two discover Hannibal is the one transforming into the creature each month, Will attempts to find a remedy. But they are running out of time, can Will save Hannibal before it's too late?
1. Part 1

_Gildan's Note: My 10 Part Hannibal AU! Enjoy_

**1. At The Corner of Harris Street**

Will Graham knocked on the door of his partner, Hannibal Lecter. Earlier in the morning, Will had received a telegram about a horrible crime that had been committed not far from here. Will was a detective with a background in medical science, as was Hannibal as well as being a psychiatrist. Together they worked on cases that no one else could handle, and today was just another example of that.

When Hannibal opened the door, Will scoffed. "You're not even dressed."

"What's going on?" asked Hannibal, yawning, he looked down at himself, he was only wearing his underwear. "Rough night I guess."

"Well, get your clothes on, we've got to go immediately." Huffed Will.

Hannibal smirked and closed the door, a few minutes later he immerged fully dressed and ready to go.

"What's going on, then?" he asked Will as they walked quickly through the town.

"Here's the telegram, you can try and figure it out." Said Will, handing him the crumpled piece of paper.

Hannibal turned it over and muttered it out loud. "Horrible crime…unclear source…come quickly…the corner of Harris Street. Well that's right near the square. It must have happened last night for no one to know who did it."

Will nodded in agreement, after a few minutes they arrived at Harris Street, where a group of officers was blockading the scene. They made room for Will and Hannibal.

The scene was gruesome, two bodies, a man and a woman, were mutilated, several limbs of each body were hanging off or gone. Blood stained the cobblestones and there was a putrid smell rising from the scene.

Hannibal looked towards Will, "Think you can use your prowess to figure out what happened here?"

"I guess we'll find out." Breathed Will, he then told the remaining officers to leave the scene.

Hannibal stepped back onto the pavement to allow Will to do his thing. Will closed his eyes, preparing to open them to the time of the attack.

By looking at the bodies, Will could tell the bodies had been savagely attacked with some sort of weapon. At first he imagined butcher knives, but upon further inspection he had noticed a strange detail – it looked like there were fangs sunken into the flesh. The limbs and skin had been ripped up so hurriedly that it looked like claws had torn it apart.

Will found himself struggling to enter the mind of this killer.

He opened his eyes and turned to Hannibal. "I can't place it."

"What?" said Hannibal, "You never usually have trouble."

Will shook his head, "This is different, this was done by some sort of animal."

"Are you sure?" asked Hannibal, stepping back onto the street to look closer at the bodies. Will bent down to look with him.

"Yes, look at these mutilations, like claws and fangs, and there's flesh that's been eaten, you can tell, here and here." Explained Will, pointing to several parts of the bodies.

"So the killer could be a wolf? Maybe a bear?"

"Possibly. I don't see how a human could have done this. Let's get the officers back here, tell them to post signs warning of a possible feral animal." Will said, standing up.

"Very strange." Muttered Hannibal, he joined Will back on the sidewalk.

Once the scene had been cleaned, and the bodies removed, Will and Hannibal headed down to their office. They owned the small building; it had a first floor with a living room and a second floor that was in a balcony-style. The windows overlooked the square, and from their windows they could see the corner of Harris Street.

"Let's hope the beast was only here for one night." Said Will. "Maybe a wolf wandered into town, had his meal, then found his way back to the forest."

"I'm sure someone would have seen it and reported it by now, don't you think?" suggested Hannibal, who was looking through records of animal attacks.

"That's exactly what I thought." Sighed Will. "Well, time will tell I suppose. But for now we're assigned to whatever this ends up being. So we have to find a way to do all we can."

"Sounds good to me." Replied Hannibal, looking up at Will.

The two stayed in their office building till five o clock, then each returned home. They would just have to wait till morning to see if this was somehow the work of a human killer.


	2. Part 2

**2. On The Front Lawn**

Will nearly ran to Hannibal's in his robe when he received the telegram that morning. It was another crime, similar in nature, and it had happened right in the middle of the square. He got dressed quickly and ran out the door, barely waiting for it to shut behind him. When he arrived at Hannibal's he knocked repeatedly on the door.

Inside Hannibal woke up on the floor. There were several chairs and notebooks around him that had somehow been tossed about. He looked around confused; he hadn't been drinking or anything, why was he waking up in such a stupor? He considered it work related, even though he knew they had both gone home at five o clock, not late at all.

Hannibal looked down at his arms and bare chest, there were thin scratches running down them. He felt himself panic, but quickly calmed himself. He must have slept walked into the room, crashed the furniture about, and scratched himself in his sleep.

The knocking continued, and Hannibal knew it was Will. Instead of coming to the door right away, he got dressed first.

"Finally – you look a mess, did you even brush your hair?" asked Will, looking at Hannibal's shabby appearance.

"Well the knocking sounded urgent so I think you can forgive me." Said Hannibal, raising an eyebrow at Will.

"Right, well, there's been another set of murders, right in the square. We have to go."

The scene was more horrific than the former crime; the bodies were strewn across the square, right outside their office building. There appeared to be what was left of three bodies. There were scattered limbs and blood everywhere, as well as bits of flesh.

"More eating." Said Will when they arrived. "It's got to be some sort of animal. Maybe a wolf that was kicked out of the pack, it'd certainly be angry. Perhaps it tried to become the Alpha, failed, then wandered here. We should analyze the bite marks; we should have done that yesterday. I'm going to go talk to Beverly."

Hannibal looked at the crime scene and had a sudden child-like thought, what if this was the work of something more sinister? He sighed, humans fear the unknown, this is unknown, but this is not supernatural. He reminded himself of this a few more times before Will returned.

"We're going to find out if it's wolf or bear or whatever it is. The team is looking now for a good bite sample. When they get it we'll get the results later today. I think it's time we get everyone off the streets at night. It isn't safe."

"I agree." Said Hannibal, "Let's head back to the office, compose the memo, and send it out. We can work with some of the officers before we get the results back."

"Good idea." Said Will, and the two headed inside.

From their windows they could see the scene being cleaned up; they could also see somebody standing around the barricades.

"You've got to be kidding me." Muttered Will.

"What?" said Hannibal, looking out, but he saw her too. "That could be a problem."

"_That _could be a _big_ problem. Come on."

The two headed back outside and walked over to the barricades.

"Just the men I wanted to see, and what are you two doing about the murders?" asked a condescending voice.

It belonged to none other than Freddie Lounds, a tabloid reporter whose previous story was on Will's apparent "psychosis" for his ability to get behind the mind of killers.

"We're working on this case, finding the truth in the mess, rather than the mess in the truth." Smiled Hannibal, with a hint of anger on his voice.

Freddie made a noise with her throat like an angry little laugh, "Sometimes the mess turns out to be more truthful than the words of our police force." She looked them up and down.

"You're a disruption to this case." Said Will blankly, barely looking at her.

"Am I? I'm on public property; I'm allowed to be here."

"Not if we have you removed." Said Hannibal.

Freddie sighed. "This case is far from over – and I know you two aren't going to be able to stop it. I'll be back when you flatfoots fail to stop these crimes."

With that she turned and walked away. Hannibal rolled his eyes and Will let out a frustrated sigh. The last thing they needed was Freddie starting a town-wide panic.

The next few hours went by slowly, there wasn't much to do while waiting for their results. They got the officers to enforce the memo, and there would be several officers stationed in doorways to make sure no one was out at night.

The telegram for the results finally arrived, and Hannibal opened it, looking suddenly very puzzled and very concerned.

"What – what did they find?" asked Will, reaching for the telegram himself.

Hannibal allowed Will to take the telegram. "This can't be true."

Will read the words on the small piece of paper and looked up at Hannibal gravely. "The bite is…human?"


	3. Part 3

**3. The Truthful Rumor**

"That can't be right. That's impossible." Said Will.

"They wrote that it closely matches human, that doesn't mean it IS human." Assured Hannibal.

"We need to go talk to Beverly tomorrow for more details." Said Will, who was beginning to pack his things. "I fear Freddie is right, this is far from over."

The next day Hannibal woke up in his bed at around 8 in the morning. The past two nights he had had slept horribly, and had woken up incredibly late. Today he was refreshed and ready to go. He got dressed, looking more presentable than he had in days, and left his house to talk a walk. Along the way he ran into Will.

"Hannibal – you're up. Good. I have some news."

"There hasn't been another crime has there?" asked Hannibal.

"Luckily, no. But I did talk to Beverly. Sorry, I wasn't sure if you were going to be up so I went along without you."

"No worries, just tell me what you found out."

"Well, it's pretty peculiar." Will began. "I asked Beverley how many animals they studied; she said they looked over almost everything with fangs, mountain lions, wolves, bears. When they found the bite matched human, they even looked at several primates."

"Some primates have been known to attack people, even so far as to tear apart skin." Added Hannibal.

"Yes…and I mentioned that, but Beverly and the team are sure that it isn't the work of a primate."

"What makes them so sure?"

"The fangs in the bite and the claw marks...they just don't see how it belongs to anything we've ever seen." Said Will.

Hannibal looked around at the townspeople walking by, and remembered his original fear of this being supernatural. "Do you think it's something…other worldly?"

Will bit his lip and looked worriedly at Hannibal, "Something weird is going on here, Hannibal. I don't know if we can count that out just yet. In fact, it might be all we have to go on."

"Well there wasn't an attack last night, maybe we're good. Maybe it's over."

As the week went by there were no more attacks. And although Will and Hannibal were resting easier, the townspeople were still gossiping wildly about it. Enough to the point where the information of the bite being closely human was somehow leaked. The rumor began to spread like the plague. Until it arrived on the doorstep of Will and Hannibal's office.

"We don't get a paper here." Said Hannibal as Will walked to the door.

"I think I have a feeling what this is." Muttered Will, he picked up the newspaper and flipped it open. It was the town's own_ Tattler_ newspaper. The headline read "Town Attacked by the WENDIGO – have you seen him?" There was a convenient picture of Will and Hannibal.

"Why does everyone have cameras these days?" He muttered, and brought it over to Hannibal.

"This is what the townspeople have been taking about." Said Hannibal, looking at the paper. "_The Wendigo is a cannibalistic creature that feeds upon human flesh, when I received word that the bites found on the victims had been human, it was then I knew that we were dealing with something that was of the supernatural. The creature could be any one of us; it could be someone you love, maybe someone you trust. It could be our very own Will Graham, who can so easily get behind the mind of a killer that perhaps he is the killer. But let's not start a witch hunt. More to come from your ace reporter – the truth is out there." _

"Freddie Lounds couldn't find the truth if she woke up one morning with it stuck between her –

"She's got a point. So do the townspeople." Said Will, cutting Hannibal short.

"Maybe – not about you though."

"Clearly. But what if this is a creature? A Wendigo?"

"When people can't find the answers they turn to supernatural causes, which very seldom ever turn out to be true. We can't lose our heads about this." Hannibal said calmly.

"I just don't want anyone else to lose their heads." Sighed Will. "But, the attacks have stopped. There's not much we can do now, maybe look through criminal profiles, see if there is a human behind this. Maybe we can find them."

The next few weeks turned out to be quite dull, there was nothing to find, and even if the killer was among them he had apparently stopped. The Wendigo rumors swelled, and it was clear the people were not over it. The children were even playing games based around the concept. Freddie had, for the time, turned her attention to suspicious bakery sales, and Hannibal and Will were left in peace.

"I'll see you tomorrow." Said Will when he and Hannibal arrived at Hannibal's doorstep.

"Yeah, soon we'll be back to regular crimes." He assured Will.

"Right." Said Will. "See you."

"Bye."

The last thing Hannibal remembered that night was closing the door.

When he woke up it was early in the morning, and the sky was still pretty dark, but through the light that was there Hannibal could see that his forearms were covered in a dark red liquid. He tried very hard not to scream.


	4. Part 4

**4. The Wendigo**

Hannibal managed not to scream, but he was still gasping wildly when he tried to get up and look at himself in the mirror. It was here where he had to try his hardest not to panic.

His mouth and chin were covered in dry, thick blood. He could feel gunk under his fingernails, and saw that there were deeper scratches upon his chest. He looked around him, he was in his bathroom, and a bath had been drawn.

He quickly dove his head and arms into the water, and began to wash off the blood. What was all this? Where had it come from? Why was it on his mouth and his arms? He grabbed a soap bar and began to scrub. The water had turned a soapy red, and when he was finally clean he drained the tub and then washed that too out of a sudden paranoia, and a sudden realization. This blood wasn't his, he didn't have the wounds for it – but where had it come from?

He had a sinking feeling in his stomach – and then leaned over the tub and threw up. He groaned and coughed, and when he looked in the tub he fell backwards. He wiped off his mouth with his hand; it was once again coated in a red substance, which he could only assume was blood. He scrambled back to the side of the tub and looked in. There were bright and dark pieces of red and pink…well – it looked like raw meat. He coughed again and turned on the tub, he didn't want to look at this for another second.

When he had rewashed his mouth, hand, and the tub, he heard a knocking on the door. It must be Will, but it was earlier than he had arrived in a while. Hannibal grabbed a collared shirt and put it on, but didn't button it. He was too out of it to put on pants either, and he was still drenched from his dip in the tub.

"What the hell happened to you?" asked Will when Hannibal opened the door, dripping through the doorway.

Hannibal pushed his wet hair out of his face. "I…I'm just…"

Will laughed, thinking Hannibal must have been drinking, but then he became serious. "There's been…another murder. Er- murders."

Hannibal felt himself becoming sick again, but he didn't want to throw up any more of whatever it was, he clutched his stomach and smiled nervously at Will. "I'll be right there."

He closed the door and slid down to his feet. His head was pounding and he felt hot tears in his eyes, this wasn't happening. This wasn't related, it wasn't him. It wasn't him. _It wasn't him._

But he knew there was no other explanation.

It took Hannibal almost ten minutes to pull himself together and another five to get dressed. Will was waiting slightly irritated outside. "Are you ready?"

"Yes." Said Hannibal, his voice quiet.

"Are you…are you alright?" asked Will, his irritation dropped and he put his hand on his friend's shoulder.

"I'm…" but Hannibal could barely speak. He put his hand up as if to say "I'm fine", but Will wasn't entirely sure.

The scene of the crime was only a block away, and when they were facing it Hannibal stumbled to the ground in his efforts not to throw up.

"Hannibal!" cried Will, placing his hands on the sides of Hannibal's arms, he bent down. "What's wrong all of a sudden?"

Hannibal gasped for air, and Will pushed the damp hair out his face and felt his forehead. "You're burning hot. You've got a fever."

Hannibal looked to the crime scene again, and then to Will. He looked at Will's eyes, and that was the last thing he saw before he passed out.

"I need a medic." Said Will to a nearby officer. He turned around and looked at the crime scene, it was certainly the most gruesome to date. There were at least four bodies this time, but they were hardly bodies anymore. The walls and cobblestones were smeared thick with blood, and Will couldn't help but feel sick himself.

A medic and several officers arrived. "We can take him back to his place; it's just up the street." Said Will, and they carried Hannibal in a stretcher back to his home.

Will stayed with Hannibal, who they had put in his bed. After a half hour Hannibal came around, and Will dabbed his forehead with a wet cloth.

Hannibal felt better than he had earlier, his head was much clearer.

"What happened?" he asked. "Did I faint?"

"Yes, at the sight of the crime scene. No one could blame you; it was definitely the worst to come out of all this."

Hannibal sighed. "Y-yeah." He looked around nervously.

"I thought you had a fever, but it must have disappeared."

Hannibal didn't say anything.

"Hannibal…I feel like something is troubling you. You know you can tell me anything, right? You can trust me." Will said, placing his hand on Hannibal's wrist.

"I know…" he whispered, but he couldn't look Will straight in the eyes. "I just fear…"

"What?"

He closed his eyes and said the words.

""I think I'm the Wendigo, Will - _I think it's me_."."


	5. Part 5

**5. The Remedy**

Will looked gravely at Hannibal. "Why do you say that?" he asked.

"I woke up this morning in my bathroom; the tub was full of water. I was on the floor, and I was covered in blood, but I know it wasn't mine. My mouth was coated in blood as well. I washed myself up, drained the tub, but then I threw up. Will it looked like…" he closed his eyes again and gritted his teeth. "It looked like some sort of meat, raw meat, and blood. And – and it makes sense, I woke up similarly confused last month the morning after each attack. I think I must have drawn baths those times too, and had washed myself up and later passed out in another room. I think maybe this time I passed out before I could wash up."

Will looked at him, a look of horror on his face. "Hannibal if this is correct, then you're going to change tonight."

Hannibal's hands began to shake. "What are we going to do?"

Will thought for a minute. "A cure."

"How do we come up with that?"

"If this is true, if you're really changing, then _boom _– all these supernatural stories hold some sort of fact. You change at night and return to normal in the morning, like a werewolf. We'll start there."

Hannibal sighed, "Will, every cure for a werewolf is one that kills it. I don't know if we'll find a cure that heals the person."

"We have to try. You have to get yourself together; we'll go down to the office and start."

When they arrived at the office they started pulling books off the shelves and began to grab flasks, vials, and anything they else they'd need to concoct a remedy.

"A wolfsbane potion, possibly?" said Will, flipping through a book on supernatural creatures.

"I'm not a werewolf, Will; I don't think that would work." Said Hannibal, who was sitting in the corner with a stack of books and a notebook.

"You don't have to sit all the way over there, you know – you're fine in the daylight."

Hannibal ignored him and continued to look through his books.

"There's nothing here." He muttered.

"No wait, look here." Said Will, bringing over an older book. "Attempts to cure individuals who were experiencing Wendigo systems involve Native American healers and a combination of remedies known to their culture."

"Native American healers? Will there isn't a tribe community anywhere near us, even if they could help, we don't have time."

Will thought for a moment. "Mr. Starling. I believe his grandfather was Native American, I'm not sure which tribe, hopefully an Algonquian speaking one, it says those are the tribes that are linked most to the stories of the Wendigo."

"Do you think he would know about Wendigos?"

"It's worth a shot. Actually, I think he lives on Harris Street."

The two headed down to Harris Street, where there was still a faint stain of blood on the cobblestones. It felt different now that they knew it had been Hannibal, but they didn't mention it.

Will knocked on Starling's door while Hannibal hung in the back. Mr. Starling was an older man, and when he opened the door he looked curiously at Will, and then looked at Hannibal so straight in the eyes that Hannibal felt he must have known.

"Mr. Starling, my name is Will Graham and this is Hannibal Lecter, we're investigators with the police force, may we come in and ask you some questions?" Will asked politely.

Starling now looked suspiciously at the pair. "I suppose."

The house was small and quaint, and they sat around a small, round table.

"Am I being accused of anything?" he asked.

"No, not at all. We just…well…" Will looked to Hannibal, then back to Starling. "We know you're Native American by descent, what tribe?"

"Ojibwe."

"So maybe you're familiar with the creature called –

"The Wendigo." He said gruffly.

Will looked nervously at Hannibal. "Yes. I assume you've heard the rumors."

"Of course." Said Starling, and he got up and grabbed a teapot. "But I can tell when one is sitting in front of me. Tea?"

Hannibal felt his face flush.

"Don't worry; I'm not going to start a mob." He said, pouring himself a cup. "I can also tell you're not keen on the idea, your mind is too strong. That's why you can sit here like a regular person and not munch on your partner."

Will gave a half smile.

"Can you help me?" Hannibal asked. "If I don't get any help by tonight I'm afraid…another attack is going to happen."

Starling looked from Hannibal to Will and sighed. "Yes, I think I can help you."

Over the next hour Starling gave them all he could to fix up a remedy. "Unfortunately I don't know how to put this all together. I was only taught small healing remedies, useful ones you know? But stuff like this, even I wouldn't know where to begin, but I'd bet that you could fix something up with all of this. And here's a book from my grandfather, when I was finding all this stuff for you I came across an interesting page." He flipped to a crumbling yellow page, "It's about Wendigos. There are some mentions of specific herbs and whatnot, but I guess we'll see if it works."

"Thank you Mr. Starling." Said Hannibal as they left.

"Don't thank me yet." Said Starling, eyeing Hannibal with concern.

As they were heading back to their office a flash of orange caught their eye.

"Boys! Boyyysss." It was Freddie.

When she caught up with them she eyed all the stuff. "What's all this?"

"None of your business." Said Will, pushing past her.

"It is my business." She called. "The Wendigo is back, boys. I hope you're ready for it." Her voice faded as they walked past.

"Great." Murmured Hannibal when she was out of earshot.

"Don't worry about it." Said Will.

When they were back in their office they began to look through more health books, going over the materials that Starling had given them. They also looked at the page that he had showed them.

After a few hours they had finally come up with something that they were confident in.

"Kind of like a wolfsbane potion, but for Wendigos." Said Will, handing Hannibal the vial.

Hannibal looked at it nervously, but drank it quickly. The light outside had faded, and it was soon dark in the room, the only light was from Will's desk lamp.

"Now what?" he asked.

"I guess we wait and see." Said Will.

"Shouldn't we have thought of precautions?" Hannibal hissed. "What if I change? What are you going to-

Hannibal clutched at his heart and gasped. Will stepped back, and Hannibal fell to his knees, and knocked over the lamp; it cracked and the light went out. He held himself up with one hand, while he clawed at his heart with the other. So that's how he got those scratches. Will could hardly see Hannibal clearly in the dim light, but he was changing, and he could see Hannibal's form shifting, getting taller, gaunter, with dark, hollow eyes…and long, slender fingers with sharp claws. His eyes were bright white, and Will had very little time to back up and hide himself behind a curtain.

The room had suddenly become eerily silent.


	6. Part 6

**6. The Transformation**

Will could feel his heart pounding through his chest. He could see slightly through the curtain. Hannibal was still on the ground, his shirt and pants were torn, and when he stood up he stumbled backwards for a moment before catching himself on his new feet. His long legs and feet looked that of the hind legs of some sort of canine like creature. His whole body had become gaunt, and he barely looked like himself anymore.

Will stayed still behind the curtain, the Wendigo scanned the room, its white, hollow eyes passing over the wall and resting on Will's. Will held his breath, could he see him?

The Wendigo stepped over the window, only ten feet away from Will. He watched its long, slender fingers pry the window open, its sharp claws gleaming menacingly from the moonlight. The Wendigo jumped out of the open window, and Will peered down and saw that it had landed almost gracefully on its feet. He stepped out from behind the curtain and watched as the Wendigo lifted its head into the air. But just as it did this it swayed as though from a strong wind.

Will looked down confused, what was happening to it? But before he could finish his thought, he saw the Wendigo drop onto the ground.

_The potion._

It had knocked Hannibal out.

Will ran downstairs and exited their building; he ran into street and looked down at the Wendigo version of Hannibal.

"Oh man." He breathed, and he grabbed Hannibal by the wrists and began to pull him back into the office. "I'm insane."

When he pulled Hannibal into the office he dragged him over to their living room. He set Hannibal down in between the couch and the coffee table, so that if he woke up he would hit either if he tried to stand. Will had nothing to tie Hannibal up with, so he stayed in the corner of the room and waited.

"It's going to be all right." He said, but he wasn't sure if he was speaking to himself or to Hannibal. "You'll be fine."

He looked at the figure lying on the ground. How had Hannibal even become a Wendigo in the first place? One had to eat human flesh, at least according to legend. His stomach dropped, what if Hannibal was sinister all along? He shook the thought from his head, he had seen genuine fear in Hannibal over this, and what had Starling said? Hannibal's mind was too strong to be overpowered in the day – if he was really sinister, this would be like a true form for him.

As the sun began to rise he noticed that the figure was changing. He got up and saw Hannibal returning to normal. There was minimal blood on him from his own scratches. Will looked at Hannibal's face, and he felt his heart hurt. Surely this was the face of an innocent man? He wanted to sit on the floor, wanted to put his hand reassuringly on his friend, wanted to stop the Wendigo with just one touch - but he knew he couldn't.

Hannibal opened his eyes and tried to sit up, but was blocked in by the sofa and the table.

"What..."

Will pushed the coffee table out of the way. "Hannibal." He said.

"What happened?" asked Hannibal as Will helped him sit up.

"You changed, but the potion knocked you out five minutes later."

"That isn't good enough." Hannibal sighed, pushing his hair back.

"Maybe if you take it earlier…"

"Will…no…in those five minutes, I could have killed you." He said. "Or anyone I was near, in those five minutes I could have been anywhere, killing anyone who had been in the way." Hannibal looked at Will. "I don't know what we can do."

"We perfect the remedy." Said Will with determination. "That's all we have to do. You changed only twice last month, last night was the second night this month. Maybe that's all it is, twice."

"Yeah." Said Hannibal.

"Hannibal…" Will started, "How do you think this happened…?"

Hannibal sighed and rubbed his eyes.

"Remember when I took that trip to South America? There were so many cultures and food, but I remember I came across this one group of people; there was something different about them. Not like the other people I had met. But I dined with them anyway – there was something weird about that whole night, Will. I think I must have been fed…" he couldn't finish the sentence. "I realized yesterday that it must have been that night."

"Well, we have another month to perfect this remedy."

"But how do we know it if it will work if we can't test it?" asked Hannibal.

"Blood. Your blood, upstairs." Will ran upstairs, there were small droplets of blood from Hannibal's scratches, and he was able to put it into vials. Hannibal joined him after a minute.

"Do you think my blood changes?" asked Hannibal.

"Maybe."

Will put the blood on a plastic slide and took the rest of the original remedy. He put a drop on the blood and looked through a microscope. Nothing happened.

"This blood is already changed, already affected." Will said with frustration in his voice.

"Maybe my blood right now is infected." Suggested Hannibal. "Maybe it always is but for some reason I don't change till a month has gone by. You can take some of my blood right now."

"Worth a shot." said Will.

When they got the blood Will looked at it and compared it to the previous sample. "It's definitely different, and I mean different from regular blood." He murmured, his eye still to the lens. "Let's add the rest of the potion."

Will watched as the blood turned to match the original sample.

"I think you were right." Said Will. "So your blood is always infected, but you still have to wait for the transformation. Our first remedy seems to change the blood, but doesn't entirely cure it. We have a start."

Hannibal felt himself relax; they were finally on the right track.


	7. Part 7

**7. Tattle-Tale**

Over the next few weeks they had worked intensively on finding a cure. Their office had become a lab, and they were running more experiments here than anywhere else, at least they figured they must be. Nothing had worked so far, but Will knew they were close.

The previous murder had caused a huge panic, as rumors of the Wendigo were being regarded as factual. Freddie was living the good life, but she needed more to flesh out the story.

Hannibal had grown accustomed to staying at Will's house, which was right down the street from their office. When the two had locked the door and left, Freddie stepped out of the shadows. She needed more scoop, and she had taken note that Hannibal and Will were clearly working on _something_. She opened the door with a hairpin and stepped inside. She climbed the stairs up the office and was greeted by their makeshift lab.

"Hm." She said, perusing through the flasks and vials. She looked over at Will's desk; there was something red in a flask. She crinkled her nose, it was blood. What were they working on? Then she noticed a notebook.

The notes weren't specific, not specific enough for a complete exposé, but there was certainly enough to throw in some very truthful rumors. The notes talked about blood samples and remedies.

"So one of them is the creature?" she thought out loud, "But which one?" she hoped it was Will Graham, but then she noticed a set of initials before each blood sample. "HL 5, HL 6…"

It clicked; _Hannibal Lecter_. Hannibal was the Wendigo. Freddie smiled, closed the notebook, and left, locking the door behind her. It wasn't enough to can them, but it was enough for a story.

The next morning Will and Hannibal headed to their office, and noticed a change in the townspeople.

"They're looking at us weird." Said Will.

"Hey is it true?" came a voice from a shop front.

"Oh lay off it, you can't believe a word that Lounds woman writes! Hey boys, keep up the good work." Came another voice.

They looked at each other with an understanding and ran the rest of the way to their office; there was a paper at their doorstep. It was a copy of the latest _Tattler, _and the headline read "HANNIBAL THE CANNIBAL: WHAT WE DIDN'T KNOW BUT KNOW NOW."

"Oh my God." Said Hannibal, looking at the headline. They stepped inside and sat on the couch to read the article.

"_After doing some ace-reporting work, I've come across some startling secrets kept by our town's own Will Graham (you may remember him) and his partner in crime, Hannibal Lecter. It's been brought to my attention that our town's cannibal Wendigo creature is none other than Mr. Lecter. It is to my knowledge that the two are working on some sort of concoction, perhaps in the hopes to each transform and tear our town apart limb my limb."_

"This is the most ridiculous thing I've ever read." Said Will. "Besides, we're working a remedy! But you heard those people, not everyone believes this garbage. It will be okay, if her article on my "psychosis" didn't do anything, this won't."

Hannibal could only hear a faint buzzing in his head, he felt sick and faint, and the sharp words of Freddie's headline pierced him sharper than claws.

"I killed people, Will." He said eventually, in a voice almost like a whisper.

"It wasn't you."

"I…ate people, Will. How am I ever supposed to be cured of this?"

"Would you ever, in your sane-mind right here right now, kill people or eat them?" asked Will.

"No."

"That just proves the Wendigo and you are not synonymous. This is a creature that takes control of your mind, it's not you." Said Will.

"Are you saying it's like a possession?" Hannibal asked.

"Yeah. It's not you, as far as I'm concerned, you're innocent."

"Thank you." Hannibal whispered, but then his stomach dropped. "Will?"

"Yes?"

"We've only got three days."

"Then let's get back upstairs and get this done." Said Will.

They worked hard over the next two days, but as close as they thought they were getting, they still didn't have it.

"I can't stay here." Said Hannibal suddenly on the third day. "I have to go. I can't be here."

"What? You have to stay; we can fix up the old remedy. Use it for tonight."

"I have to get as far away as possible." Hannibal said quickly, and left before Will could stop him.

Will ran outside to see where Hannibal had gone, but it was getting dark and there was no way to tell which way he went. Will looked around nervously, this wasn't good.


	8. Part 8

**8. The Beast In Me**

Hannibal ran until he was out of town. He couldn't bear to be in that town, not near Will again. He stumbled in the grass, and crawled his way to the forest. But as he reached the edge he felt himself changing again. He screamed, and clawed at his heart again. Maybe he'd go into the woods, kill animals. He closed his eyes, he wouldn't kill animals, there was only one thing a Wendigo could eat.

Will stood in the town square, still looking in each direction. Finally he ran back inside, he had to find the remedy and he had to find it _tonight._

Will began to pour over every note they had taken, he looked through sample after sample, analyzing each, trying to cross theories. He looked up, his eyes falling over the original remedy. It began there; maybe it would have to end there.

He jumped up and grabbed it; maybe there was a way to enhance it. He took several blood samples at once and began to adjust the original remedy. He didn't know how long he had.

The Wendigo stood up in the grass, its white eyes looking back towards the town. There was a rustle in the woods, and the Wendigo snapped its head towards the noise. It headed into the brush, the woods had enough distractions, and the time the Wendigo stepped back out the night was almost over. Hungry and angry, the Wendigo headed towards the town, its original destination.

Will was still looking for the cure, still looking through notes, but there was a different air in the room, he was _close_. In a few more hours, Will would be surprised if he _didn't _have the cure.

The Wendigo approached the town, its eyes flicked to a light in a house on the outskirts; it could see a figure moving in the house.

Freddie Lounds wasn't usually up so late, but she was working on her next startling story, and she had a lot of inspiration she couldn't ignore. She opened the window for fresh air, but closed it after thinking about the Wendigo. She looked at her reflection in the dark window; even she had to admit she was freaked out by the thought of the beast.

She went upstairs to grab some more paper; she heard a crash and saw her light go out downstairs. She walked slowly down the stairs, and saw that the window was now wide open. She also saw that the sky had become a tad lighter.

Will rubbed his eyes, the sun was coming up. He wondered where Hannibal was, he wondered if he'd receive another urgent telegram. His stomach dropped.

Freddie slowly approached the window, and was about to reach out for it when she head a small step behind her. She whipped around and screamed, the Wendigo was standing in the corner of the room; its white eyes were the only true visible thing she could see, as well as the sharp claws and fangs.

She grabbed a fireplace poker and held it up; for once in her life her tongue was tied.

The Wendigo bared its fangs and leapt. Freddie screamed, shut her eyes, and thrust the poker in front of her. She heard the creature hiss and stumble back. She opened her eyes quickly and saw that she had hit it in the chest. Adrenaline rushed through her and she held the poker up again. "Yeah that's right." She breathed.

The Wendigo slashed at the poker and ripped it from her hands. Freddie screamed again and backed up towards the wall, and she was considering trying to jump out the window. The sky was growing lighter, and before the Wendigo could lunge and deliver the death blow, sunlight poured into the room.

The creature covered its eyes and Freddie watched it fall to the ground. She grabbed her telephone (she was one of the select few who had one in town) and called for the police. She watched the Wendigo begin to transform.

From his window Will saw several officers run past, it was all he needed to see. He ran outside and tried to follow them.

Hannibal was now lying on Freddie's floor, but he was still gaunt in his appearance, and he was covered in scratches and blood. Freddie stayed by the wall until the officers came.

"Right there boys! It's the Wendigo!" she cried when the officers arrived. They looked from Freddie to Hannibal and immediately began to cuff him.

"We've got him guys." One of them said. "It's all over now."

Freddie followed them outside and watched them take Hannibal to the station. Several people were looking out their windows as Hannibal was led away. Will arrived only seconds before.

"What's going on?" he asked, panting.

"Hannibal's been caught." She said, and looked at Will. "He almost killed me, you know."

Will didn't say anything. He left Freddie and headed to the station, he was ten minutes from the cure, he just knew it.


	9. Part 9

**9. So Close**

Hannibal was extremely groggy, and he felt himself being dragged through the street. He looked up at the officers. People were crowding around the streets now, some were shouting violent words, some were crying. He was thrown into a dirty cell when they brought him in. He scrambled up to the bars.

"Wait – please – you don't understand!" he called. There was a panic happening behind him, and several men were pushing themselves into a corner.

"Stay b-back!" they cried.

Hannibal looked at them for a moment, but ignored them.

Will rushed through the streets, he saw that people were chatting excitedly, the killer was caught. He heard several people talking about punishment in the form of execution. He walked quickly into the station. "Where is he?" he asked, an officer pointed to the holding room. He opened the door.

"Will!" called Hannibal, and Will ran over and put his hands on the bars.

"Hannibal – are you alright?"

One of the men in the back of the cell laughed nervously and said "Is h_e_ alright?" Will shot him a dirty look.

"Not entirely, please tell me you have the cure."

"I'm almost there Hannibal I can _feel_ it." Said Will, he grabbed Hannibal's hand through the bars. "I'm going to get you of here."

Hannibal nodded.

"But I have to go, or else I can't work on the cure. I'll be back. I promise." Said Will, looking into Hannibal's eyes with as much reassurance as he could muster.

Hannibal nodded again, "Okay Will, okay."

Will left the room and looked at the officers milling about, "You keep him there, and don't do _anything _to him." He said angrily, then ran out and sprinted to his office.

"We don't run on your orders." Muttered one of the officers when he left.

Will practically flew up the stairs and back into his seat, he put a fresh drop of blood on a slide. This is it, he breathed, this is going to be the cure. He took what he had been working on and started the test. He wanted to close his eyes, wanted to open them and have everything work, but he needed to watch.

It didn't work.

Will let out a cry of desperation. "JUST WORK!" he shouted, tears coming into his eyes.

He tried again.

Another failure.

He grabbed his hair in frustration, and looked out the window when something caught his eye. It was the townspeople, gathering around some sort of structure.

It was a small stand, and on it, a block of wood with a half circle carved at the top. Will felt himself snap – there was going to be an execution.

Will ran down to the scene, and grabbed a nearby officer.

"What's going on here?!" he asked angrily.

"We're going to execute the Wendigo." Said the officer.

"You-you can't do that. That's my _friend_, and I have the cure." He said, lying about that last detail.

"Look I'm just here to keep the crowd safe."

Will turned and ran back into his office; he didn't know how much time he had.

Hannibal heard the door of the cell open, his head perked up "Will?"

"No. Please stand up." Several officers stood around. They grabbed Hannibal by his arms and began to lead him outside.

"What's going on? _Where are you taking me?" _he asked.

As they rounded the corner, Hannibal could see the square, he could see the makeshift platform, and he could see a very serious, frightening man holding a large, sharp axe.

"N-N-N-No." he began. "_No no no no no_" He began to dig his feet into the ground, trying to backpedal, he looked like a frightened child.

"Come on Lecter you know this is the only option." Said one of the officers who had worked with them on a case before.

Hannibal began to sob and tried to rip himself out of the officers' grip. "NO!" he cried. "NO NO NO."

He tried to plant his feet at the base of the steps of the platform, but kept being pushed up. He tried to push his feet back, but was pushed down onto the top of the platform. People scooted out of the way, and then got closer.

"Stand up." One of them said.

Hannibal thrashed wildly, trying to escape. "_WILL,_" he yelled hoarsely. "_WILLLLL_." He felt himself breaking down. It couldn't end like this. Where was Will?


	10. Part 10

_Gildan's Note: This is the last part of the series, hope you enjoy the end!_

**10. All Along**

From his window Will was focused on the microscope. He tested his latest remedy and….

Success.

A cry brought his attention back to the square. It was Hannibal, and they were lowering his head onto the wooden block.

"No no no no." Will breathed, grabbing the cure and running down the steps. It looked like he had been thrown out of his doorway he jumped out so fast.

"NO!" he cried, everyone turned to him.

Hannibal blinked the tears out of his eyes and tried to look around for Will.

"STOP!" Will yelled, running up to the platform.

"We have to do this." One of the officers said.

"No you don't. I have the cure." He explained with desperation. "This will stop everything."

"So will this." Said the officer, pointing to the axe.

"This is barbaric!" he cried.

"He KILLED people!" the officer shouted back.

"It wasn't _him. _It was the creature that had possessed him. He was just a victim, he doesn't deserve to die." Will begged. "This is the 20th century for God's sake."

"It's true!" came a voice, it was Mr. Starling.

The officers looked from Will to Mr. Starling.

"Please believe us." Said Will. "Nobody hear can explain what is happening better than us. We've all been the victims of a supernatural force, here. We can end it through this cure. Please, let's be done with death."

Will scanned the eyes of the crowd. "Do you really want to see a man be killed here today? Is this your entertainment?"

Everyone was quiet now, and most of them avoided Will's gaze. His eyes fell on Freddie.

"This is far enough." She said loudly. "If Will can cast the Wendigo out, then that should be the end of it." There were murmurs among the crowd.

The officer sighed. "If this doesn't work…then you're responsible."

"Fair." Said Will, he moved over to Hannibal. "Get out of here." he said angrily to the executioner. He grabbed Hannibal from under his arms and pulled him back.

"Will." He cried, too weak to reach out.

"I'm here. I'm back. I've got the cure, Hannibal." Will felt tears fall from his own face, and he helped Hannibal drink from the flask.

Hannibal coughed, his scratches suddenly healed, and his appearance had changed back to normal.

"It…it worked." Cried Will, hugging Hannibal, who smiled behind his tears.

"Thank you." Hannibal whispered, hugging Will back.

Whether the Wendigo was killed or simply cast away neither Will nor Hannibal knew. That night Hannibal did not transform, and for them it was truly over. But in the depths of the night, when it was pitch black, Hannibal thought he could feel his heart itch, and he'd suddenly feel a growl in his stomach – and he had the strangest inkling that he wasn't craving something easily attainable. He'd shut his eyes until the feeling was gone, and wake up the next day feeling fine. But who really knows how long one can avoid their natural instincts, especially ones they've been fighting since birth.


End file.
